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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: firm · chip · cap · spring · tube · pitcher · kick · field

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. firm — steady
  3. cap — of ice
  4. spring — a coil
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. firm — decided
  7. cap — a hat
  8. field — farmland
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. chip — to eat
  11. cap — a lid
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. kick — in football
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. field — a subject
  18. tube — the underground
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. field — for sport
  21. tube — a container
  22. spring — the season
  23. firm — a company
  24. chip — for betting

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com